


Enigma

by MrowSaystheCat



Series: Archangel, Dark Angel [3]
Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: M/M, all characters aside from Glenn and Daryl are only mentioned not featured, well aside from Abraham
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-10
Updated: 2017-07-10
Packaged: 2018-11-30 06:57:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,409
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11458386
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MrowSaystheCat/pseuds/MrowSaystheCat
Summary: Glenn seeks out the man from the shadows.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I hope this installment isn't shitty, and that it makes sense.

He was relieved of his watch by Abraham. The two conversed in a joking manner; brought on by a yawn from Glenn as he’d handed over the binoculars. It ended in a gentle, brotherly punch to the shoulder by the larger man; who then climbed up to the roost. As for Glenn? Well, he’d decided to forgo the advice which the burly ginger had given him. Instead of going to his rest despite how tired he did feel, he instead sought to see what was really out in the houses beyond the walls. Was the man still there? Better yet, was he just a very creative figment of Glenn’s imagination? Whatever he’d seen, he had to know. And then, there was the fact he’d heard the man in his head. Could he have made up that voice, all from a single memory that was half awareness and half dream? Maybe some part of him was starting to crack; they’d had a hard journey since the quarry, and certainly the ASZ was a far cry from what they’d come from – but the bad things, the hard things, that which ripped at the very soul - they could linger. They could hold a person’s mind for longer than they had a right to. He could see it in Sasha’s eyes, after all; so many ghosts that walked with her, and she could not understand why she was there and they were not. And he knew some ghosts had been exorcised from Michonne; he’d seen the way that Carl had helped in that, the way that Rick had. He knew he’d been part of it, too; to bring her away from the hold of the past and those she could no longer commune with but in memory. He hoped that their family could reach Sasha, too. He didn’t want to see her lost to her sorrow; to the pain which she carried with her. 

Such heavy burdens.

He sighed to himself, and made for the part of the wall hidden in shadows; a place that was protected from the outside since Walkers weren’t clever enough to climb where a human could. It wasn’t hard to detect from the inside if one were planning a clandestine escape for a while; but most people didn’t seem to notice it. Those who had? Nicholas, Enid, Carl, Rick, Michonne and himself. This wasn’t the first time he’d used it, of course. No, he’d followed Nicholas out on a distrustful, suspicious whim – and they’d come to blows in the woods; too much had added up in the short time they’d known one another for it not to. Then, it had gone beyond that; it had grown in to life or death because his query had to push with a bullet and some ill-timed walkers. The other man had so much to pay for. In a flash of memory, Glenn once again saw poor Noah’s face; heard the last seconds of his friend’s life all over again. It would stay with him. Always and forever.

It had been so hard not to kill Nicholas that night, when he’d finally gotten to the end of his tether. He wasn’t sure what had stopped him; maybe some semblance of self which he saw reflected in the trembling, begging man? Glenn really couldn’t put his finger on it. But he knew, if he’d taken the other man’s life? It would always be with him, even if it felt justified. Maybe it had been Noah’s last words to him; understood in the emotional and not the physical. But he wondered, sometimes… What if he hadn’t let go in that sense? Of his friend’s hand? He shuddered to himself, there in the darkness before the wall. Closed his eyes and breathed out.

Guilt would always be there. Even if there’d been nothing. Nothing. That could be done for it. He pushed the emotions back, scurrying up and over the wall. Dropping to the ground below; silent as a whisper, he caught himself with ease and then moved onward towards where the apparition had been. He turned his mind away from Nicholas who lived and maybe didn’t deserve to – and from Noah, who had died horribly and had definitely not deserved to. Instead, he placed it on another man; one that he had maybe dreamed up. On a voice which maybe had come because some part of him needed something like a miracle, or maybe because he was losing his grip on reality due to sorrow and guilt. Maybe he’d be walking in to the arms of a Geek, waltzing with bravado through the shadows right to his end.

Geek. He hadn’t thought of them, Walkers, in that manner for a while, had he? Sometimes in undercurrents that felt slightly alien. Ancient, but buzzing with the youth he’d been when it had all started – the end. A word used before he’d met Rick, gotten him out of the tank and to the first wild ride which tended to be their days and nights together. It had phased out since; but there it was. Geek.

 _Ain’t a Geek, Glenn._ There it was, the voice – amused and alert within his head, even if it wasn’t his own voice. It was _him. The man_. He stopped in the tracks made by his silent way through the overgrown suburban sprawl nestled outside the wall; he was in the shadows of vines and trees, knowing he wouldn’t make in to Abraham’s gaze. Glenn was too stealthy for that. 

“Are you even real?” He couldn’t help but voice that aloud; the words whispered despite their urgency. He glanced around in the shadows; wondering if the figment would emerge and prove himself. Glenn held his breath and waited, fingers creeping along to the blade he kept at his belt. Just in case.

“Ain’t gonna hurt you, Kid.” That time, the voice was outside of his head. Close by; and with it? A body. And heat. Furnace like; a burning brand across his back which made him want to cry out with shock and… and pleasure? Glenn lifted his chin, and found himself stock still while a hand moved up to touch his throat; a gentle caress which turned in to a hold. Guiding him to lean himself back against a solid front. The heat licking its way through his nerves, making him close his eyes. Without thinking, he relaxed – some part of himself silently screaming despite how natural it felt. He tilted his head, and felt sharpness as it spiked against his neck and through his flesh. 

Memory poured in.


	2. Shades of Grey

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One mystery solved. How many more to go?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, a second chapter to the third part! It just felt right to add it here. Hope it doesn't suck; I'm a bit out of sorts today due to some personal issues. Still, it was in my head and demanded to be written. If it is too bad, I can re-do when I'm better off. Just let me know?

It was like falling from great heights, but without the terror which might stop a heart before impact took one’s life. This was by far more gentle; sweet and thick, wrapping him in softness and happiness as the world seemed to slowly spin and rise to greet him. Pulling him back, in to the darkness of a dying house. Pulling him down, against heated muscle; locked in arms which knew exactly how to hold him. And then he was on his feet, and suddenly not in the ruins of Alexandria. It was still night, but a lit-up city night. Back in an Atlanta with power; how? Suddenly, that didn’t matter - the world was comprised of hooded blue eyes, shaggy hair which couldn’t seem to make up its mind on whether or not it was blond or deep brown, and features which were ruggedly handsome. There was leather, denim and flannel, strong hands and well-toned arms; all studded in flecks and splashes of fresh blood. The man was wounded; badly. Glenn could tell that he’d gasped, to see the man was aware, watching him; not staring off in the distance from the pain he felt, like he’d originally guessed. 

Before he knew it, he was kneeling beside the man he’d found there in the alleyway; his bike left off to the side, forgotten in favor of helping someone clearly in trouble. He wasn’t sure exactly what to do, but something had to be done. There was no two ways about it. 

“Oh, shit; dude, you need a hospital, fast!” The words were trembling, and he was patting at the pockets of his jeans; wondering which he’d stowed his phone in. However, a strong hand on his wrist stopped the action, and his eyes were brought up from that connection to peer deep in to the storming sky living within the other’s gaze. The silent man shook his head; parting his lips to speak. Voice in a deep country rumble which was familiar and yet somehow… off. 

“Ain’t shit a hospital can do, Kid.” A quick smirk; flash of teeth that looked too sharp to be right. “You can help me, though.”

“How? Just… just tell me, man; I’m not a doctor; hell, I barely know anything about first aid beyond simple stuff like… I’ll do anything, though. Anything I can.” Glenn had been rambling, not sure exactly how he could be of service if a hospital couldn’t do the job which needed to be done.

“Kid.” The man’s voice silenced the babbling which flowed, and Glenn was locked in to the blue of the other man’s eyes. Helpless. Blissfully helpless. “Ain’t gonna hurt.” Was the follow up, as tension suddenly ran through his body; the man pulling him close. He was so… cold. And then the sharpness came, as arms sticky with blood wrapped around him and held him near; pulling his thoughts across his mind’s eyes. His parents, his sisters; the life he’d had until that point. And as the man held him, the sharpness seemed to die away; melting to something sweeter than any sense of delight he’d ever felt before.

_That’s it, Glenn. Just like that…_

He lay there, stunned in to silence. Unable to move, to just stare and then to slowly close his eyes; his mind muddied and his pulse sluggish. He felt hot then; wrapped in solid arms which seemed like they could burn him. A soft noise escaped his lips, and Glenn felt the wet warmth of a tongue licking along his neck; slowly, decadently. 

_Ain’t you just Sunshine, Kid…_

The arms unwrapped from him, and he was laid across the pavement where he’d found the man; eyes closed, body locked in relaxation. Pulse down, but nowhere near death. Was the man just going to leave him like this? 

_Yeah, gotta go now – but, we’ll meet again, Glenn. Promise. Ain’t like I can ever forget you. Someone’s comin’, though. You’ll be alright, Sunshine.”_

And he was back in the darkness; in the half-ruined house that he’d been pulled in to. Away from roaming eyes which might catch out movement in the shadows; laying back in the familiar arms of someone he thought was a dream. The full memory of their first meeting sitting in his mind’s eye; his breath catching as familiar stubble rubbed against the shell of his ear, and then his throat and jawline; and there came something like a deep, rumbling purr from the man holding him. 

“Told ya, didn’t I? Here we are. A lil’ overdue, but still – I kept my promise.” The man’s voice thrumming with pleasure; much like the contended purr which Glenn’d felt vibrate against his back. 

“Daryl.” He breathed out; the name coming to him as suddenly as if it had always been there, in the back of his mind. Playing hide and seek with him in his dreams. 

“You’re a quick study.” Was gentle praise against his ear; the man still holding him close. Glenn’s heart was racing for a moment, and then suddenly – he was calm, fingers caressing along the arm which was wrapped around him. He closed his eyes, breathing out a sigh.

“I gotta be dreaming this.” The whisper was trembling with emotion; Glenn wasn’t sure to make of any of this. The memory, the sensations; why Daryl was so hot to the touch. Why he could purr. Why or how he was even there. 

“Nah. Don’t go tryn’ to fool yourself, Sunshine. Geeks get up and walk unless you destroy their brain; you know weird shit can happen in the world.” The way he’d said ‘weird shit’ was stressed; teasing and familiar, right along the way Glenn might have intoned it himself. It made him shiver; try to struggle. Glenn set his jaw, all determination pushing forward in a heartbeat.

“I don’t know you, or why you’re here…” There was more than trying to struggle then, and suddenly; he was released. The heat at his back was gone, and the man was crouched before him while he knelt there trying to get his breath and his feet in the same moment. 

“Ya do, don’t lie to yourself.” They were face to face then, Daryl watching him with cool interest while Glenn glared in return. He moved himself back, then got to his feet as quick as he could. Daryl stood, blocking him from leaving in the most direct path; watching with intent, the way that Glenn’s jaw worked beneath his skin. 

“Get out of my way.” There was so much more force there, than when he’d been just a few months younger. He’d grown strong, surer of himself; the crimson petals showing their fierce beauty without missing a beat. Glenn was waiting for a fight, waiting for the man to shake his head or try to do more than just stand there, smirking. Instead, Daryl gave a soft bow of his head; the smirk shifting just a hair as he watched the chocolate eyed beauty he’d marked as his own. So many things the Kid didn’t know; but Daryl wasn’t one of those mysteries. At least, not in so far as the dreams they’d shared. The connection ran deep. Deeper than he had been aware that it could; he’d known it the second he’d tasted his blood in the alley. Glenn knew it, too – but maybe he just wasn’t as ready as he thought he was to see the world as it truly was. 

“Gonna run from me?” Was a question asked with a lifted brow; those captivating eyes locked on to him with just a hint of sorrow showing. 

“No.” There was a sigh, another soft lift of the chin. Sweet, deep Earth met still, clear Water and there was a small tilt to Glenn’s head. “Not going to run, but I am going to walk away – until you stop being Mister-fucking-Mystery.”

**Author's Note:**

> More soon :D


End file.
